


Insulation Inspiration

by ashes0909



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, POV Tony Stark, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22838521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashes0909/pseuds/ashes0909
Summary: “It’s rare to get a blizzard this bad but I remember…” Steve chuckled again, shifting so he could brush a kiss on the top Tony’s head, but he didn’t continue.So, Tony prodded. “Yes…? Vague memory alert. You know I’m all about instant gratification. Don’t leave me hanging. What do you remember?”
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 18
Kudos: 152
Collections: Tony Stark Bingo 2020





	Insulation Inspiration

Tony absolutely loved everything about his penthouse. He loved its wide, open floor plan, how the living room area sunk in, framing the stone-walled fireplace. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the glorious New York skyline, he loved it all, absolutely. Up and until the temperatures plummeted in a record breaking blizzard and Tony was left shivering, as he mentally considered if it was worth adding extra insulation to his windows, for a storm that was only supposed to last forty-eight hours. 

“I can hear your teeth chattering from here,” Steve said from where he lay on the other side of the L-shaped sofa. “Come here.” He lifted the blanket, patting the spot next to him until Tony sighed with exasperation that sounded more affectionate than Tony intended, but that was what happened when it came to Steve. He did what Steve asked though, crawling across the couch until he could fit into the space Steve had made for him, tucked under his arm, head on his chest. Steve pulled the blanket tighter around them. Tony could feel his cold seep into Steve’s warmth and the transfer of heat caused another shiver to run down his spine. 

Steve chuckled. “Can’t we get JARVIS to heat up the place a bit?”

“I asked. He has.”

“Might I suggest you two move away from the floor-to-ceiling windows that connect to the outdoors. The record cold temperatures make this room five degrees colder than the rest of the penthouse, and if--”

“Thank you, JARVIS,” Tony cut in with an eye roll and a smile. “It seems my AI doesn’t understand that one must sacrifice for a good view.” From their cocoon on the sofa, Tony could see the billowing storm, casting the skyscrapers into silhouettes in the whiteout conditions. 

“It’s rare to get a blizzard this bad but I remember…” Steve chuckled again, shifting so he could brush a kiss on the top Tony’s head, but he didn’t continue. 

So, Tony prodded. “Yes…? Vague memory alert. You know I’m all about instant gratification. Don’t leave me hanging. What do you remember?”

Steve squeezed Tony and laughed. “There was just this one really bad storm back in the 40s. Bucky was livin’ nextdoor, but might as well have been living at my ma’s. She was stuck working a shift at the hospital, so it was just Bucky an’ me, squeezed together for warmth. Kinda like this.”

“Oh, yeah?” Tony asked, running his leg up until it dragged across Steve’s lap.

“ _Kinda_ like this, is what I said.” Steve reached down to pinch Tony’s waist, causing him to break out in a fit of tickle-induced laughter. When Tony could finally breathe again after his laughter died down, Steve continued, “We were both not much more than knees and elbows, definitely not able to provide much warmth. It was Bucky that first came up with the idea. He’d just learned about igloos from one of those National Geographics we used to tear the pages out of to line our coats.”

“Igloos? Did you two rascals go out into the snow and build an igloo?”

“Not quite.” Steve laughed. “But he did get it into his head that we’d be much less cold if we became more insulated, like an igloo. Before he’d even finished explaining it, he was out the door.” 

Tony could imagine it perfectly, a much younger, much tinier, Bucky and Steve; Steve waiting with bright, wide eyes for his friend to return with an adventure. 

“He could barely make it back through the door when he returned, between the wind and everything he was carrying. I jumped up to help and we ended up in a pile of blankets, table cloths, sheets, and curtains." 

“Curtains! Oh my lord.” 

“Yeah. And let me tell you, it helped.”

“Wait?” Tony felt like he’d missed a step. “Burying yourself in fabrics? That makes sense...”

Steve turned, so that he could meet Tony’s gaze with a smirk. Then gravity shifted for Tony and he was in Steve’s arms, and then Steve was standing upright, walking up the sunken living room stairs, carrying Tony to the carpeted area by the corner of the room. He very unceremoniously plopped Tony down onto the carpet. While Tony was gaping and trying to shake himself into a sense of equilibrium, Steve had apparently wandered back into the sunk-in living room, because in the next second, the blanket they’d been cuddling with was tossed over his head. 

“What’s happening?” Tony asked as he pulled the blanket down to gain some semblance of sight. 

“We’re making a blanket fort.” 

Before Tony could ask, “What?” Steve was heading to their bedroom. There were some rumblings from inside and then he was on the move again. On his way out--hands full of what appeared to be their entire bed set--he stopped by the linen closet and shifted his burden to one hand so he could grab even more blankets. Over the very top of his pile, Tony could see mischievous, dancing, blue eyes. 

“Oh, no you don’t--!” Tony knew what was coming, and before he finished shouting the entire bundle of blankets were toppled onto his head. Steve’s laughing bellowed out, and though Tony couldn’t see a thing, it was easy to imagine his happy face alight with mirth. “Oh, yes you did.” 

“I couldn’t resist. But while you’re down there, start making our ground floor with the comforter and down blanket.” The weight of the blankets over Tony’s head lightened a little as Steve grabbed the sheets. “I’ll work on our walls.”

They worked together, constructing the fort. The light dimmed as Steve used the ceiling fan to hold the sheet, the rest of it hanging loose to form a wall. The thick blankets made a good floor but they needed something more. Steve finished putting up another wall over a portion of the ceiling fan and Tony slipped through the makeshift door that the space between two hanging sheets created, and headed for the cushions on the sofa. It was chillier outside the fort and it made Tony pick up his speed.

“Hey, now!” Steve swayed on the chair he was using to stretch up towards the ceiling fan. A sheet started to slip and by the time Tony had his arms full of cushions Steve was tumbling down from the chair, grabbing at the falling bedsheet. Tony watched as Steve hit the carpeted floor with a bang. 

There was a beat of silence and then they both started to laugh, Steve staring at the ceiling and Tony stumbling over to him, and, because all of this was already ridiculous enough, Tony dropped the couch cushions onto his broad chest. 

“Tony!” Steve shifted, rolling onto all fours before pushing to stand.

“What?” Tony said with a grin. “I’m helping.” The wind picked up on the other side of the windows, whistling so loudly it caught both their attention and made Tony shiver again. “Oh! Should I go get the space heater? How about a sauna?”

“A sauna in a blanket fort seems like an incredibly bad idea.”

“Better get those walls up then, Rogers.” Tony winked then sprawled himself back on the pile of blankets, dragging the cushions in around him. 

“Try not to make a ruckus this time.”

“No promises!”

Once again the storm disappeared in a wave of fabric, walls coming together as Steve layered them over the long ceiling fan blades. A blue hue filled the area, creating a private enclosure kept away from the rest of the world. It was quiet, just the sounds of fabric rustling as Steve made the last touches, and peaceful. Even more perfect when Steve fingers slipped between sheets and he followed them inside. 

“You look cozy,” Steve said.

“I am. Now let's cuddle and take bets on how long we think this place will last.”

Steve followed Tony’s suggestion for the first part, sitting next to Tony and wrapping his arm around him, pulling Tony close. “Are you doubting my structural integrity?”

“Well, no,” Tony admitted. “But I am doubting its ability to hold up after I make a window, so we can see the storm.”

“A window? Tony, unless you want to go cutting up our sheets--”

“Well, if I can’t watch the storm, why don’t you help me pass time another way?”

“Whatcha got in mind?”

“This.” Tony closed the space between them with a kiss, letting the spark mix with the warmth Steve and his fort had created.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my S4: Blanket Fort Square 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
